Buffy's Healing Powers

[Your Creamy Coolness]

Does anyone besides me think her healing powers are somewhat ill defined? I mean I recall someone saying (in what ep I am not sure) that a fresh wound was already starting to close, yet in THE YOKO FACTOR or PRIMEVAL one for example, she has that huge head wound and I think she gets it in the early ep. There are other examples. In The Freshman her arm wasn't broke, but it was messed up for a day or two? I thought she healed very quickly?

[definition of insane]

I'm probably not being much help, but the ep that your talking about is Surprise...it's where her and Angel have escaped Spike and the Judge and just before...well, you know. ;)

She says she thinks she has a cut and Angel tells her it's already beginning to close. Perhaps she just overestimated and it was a bit of a scratch? Who knows.

As for the healing thing...I don't think it was ever set that she could heal immediately...she heals faster than most people so something like a big gash on the head or a broken/dislocated/whatever arm may take her a few days where as it would take normal people much longer to recover from. Things like cuts and scrapes could maybe be almost instantaneous, depending on how bad it is.

Just my thoughts anyway.

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

also, in 'the freshman', at the time when her arm was hurt, she was very lonely and sad. thats why she was so off her game in the first place. therefore, she might just have kind of let her arm heal slowly, and not tried to resist the pain in any way or care for it, because she was wallowing in her own emotional pain.

[Your Creamy Coolness]

She has control over her healing?? Is it an emotion based power?? Interesting theory.

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

heh, thats possible. interesting theory i inadvertently came up with :D. i was kind of rambling. i knew what i meant, but had a hard time putting it into words :silly:.

what i actually meant, if i can explain it right this time, was she was focusing on all the pain emotionally, and the physical pain kind of added to it, so even if her arm was kind of healing, she'd focus on what pain was left, and feel it magnified. did that make sense?

[Xin Rong]

Well stress and depression can have an affect on non slayerish people, seems perfectly logical to conclude it could have an affect on a slayers healing capabilities.

[Your Creamy Coolness]

I think this all makes sense. I think anyone with powers (ala Charmed witches or Slayers) use their emotions to fuel their power. I think that is what makes Buffy so great, she thinks with her heart not her head. I think Giles even said something like "you put you heart above all else"...so I think the theory makes sense.

[definition of insane]

I doubt that it's something she literally has control over. More than likely it's like what Spirit of Fred and Xin Rong had said, if your feeling down you're not going to recover as quickly as you would normally and Buffy is a highly emotional person at times so it would definately have some sort of effect on her.

[SpikedBuffy]

I don't believe there is a set time limit on healing. Like said, she can't heal instantaneously, she just heals faster.

She was nursing her arm in "Freshmen" because it was hurt. But obviously it wasn't hurt that much for her to punch out Sunday at the end. The cut that you're referring to in "Surprise" was just a little one. Little cuts and scratches close pretty easily, even in plain old regular humans.

Oh, and the theory on emotional state contributing/decreasing healing ability, I agree with it. I always think of "Killed By Death" when Buffy is getting sick and not feeling well... Angel kicks the crap out of her. When she is taken to the hospital, she has many bumps, bruises, and even fractures. (The doctor says it). Even though she is remarkedly feeling better the next day when the doctor sees her, she's not all the way better.